William Shatner’s low-budget sci-fi flick, “Invasion Iowa,” that was supposedly filming in Riverside, turned out to be an elaborate hoax.Local officials were apparently alerted when Nimoy showed up with a beard (reprising his role as the evil, mirror universe Spock).
To borrow the phrase from MTV, the entire town was “punk’d.”
Yes, William Shatner is there, and yes, there is a film crew, but the whole thing wasn’t for a movie, but for a “reality” show on what it’s like when a Hollywood film crew descends on a tiny Midwestern town.
The ruse was revealed last night by Shatner and producers at a town gathering at Hall Park, and Shatner held an official press conference in Riverside at 11 a.m. today. --Riverside feels 'Wrath of Con' (Iowa City Press-Citizen)
A brief story about the supposed movie ended up on the Associated Press wire.
I didn't check at the time when I blogged it, but the IMDB has no entry for "Invasion Iowa," or Aint It Cool News. Typically, by the time the mainstream press covers a movie project, the film geeks have already posted at least something about it.
I really enjoy Shatner's hammy style, but this seems mean spirited. I'm not a fan of the "reality TV" genre, at any rate.
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